Overnight Success, Part 2

Since ‘part 1’ asserted that overnight success takes time, the alternative to instant overnight success is to make it take as short a time as possible. It helps to remember the old story of tapping a massive boulder with a smaller one…you don’t see the fractures that eventually cause the whole thing to shatter, but with each tap, the structure within degrades. After what seems like forever, the boulders crumbles into pieces. The person tapping may have stopped or even left the area. The appearance, however, is that ‘suddenly’ the might rock turns to rubble.

For someone who has to ‘keep the day job,’ finding the time to promote your passion–in my case, my ‘Martian Symbiont’ scifi series, is like tapping the boulder. My free time is extremely limited, and sometimes gets pre-empted, say when someone calls in sick, or there’s an emergency at work. Whether or not I get paid for those things isn’t the issue–although it helps if I do. The point is, that’s less free time I have to ‘tap.’ 😉

Tapping the rock in the right place speeds things up. If you’re like me, just about the most important thing is to ‘destress,’ most often from ‘the day job.’ (If it’s not your passion, even a great workplace will require you to destress to focus on your passion.) Having breaks pre-empted or shortened does not help. Having to give up entire days off suddenly seems more stressful than it really is. Don’t ask…please, don’t ask.

Finding a few outside interests–which may be partly related to your passion, but must not be ‘day job’ related–will help immensely. Without these kind of breaks, you’ll probably quit the ‘day job,’ most likely in anger and frustration, and may possibly come to blame your passion. Here are a few suggestions for things that may help:

take a walk. It’s amazing how the exercise and fresh air can rejuvenate.

play a sport. It should be something that gets you away from the computer, even briefly.

go for coffee. You may meet up with old friends or make new ones.

write a letter…send it snail mail. That gets you out of the house and walking.

walk the dog. Your best friend is waiting and will love you even more.

quit smoking. Sorry, that’s on every list these days.

phone somebody. Anybody. My number is…

go to the zoo, a museum, an art gallery…expose yourself, uh, your mind, to new perspectives.

Do something that is exclusively for you…so long as it harms no-one else.

Find your passion!

As long as you’re wrapped up in tension and stress, you won’t even have the energy to find your passion (unless it’s tension and stress–but I doubt it.) You certainly won’t be focusing on ‘tapping’ your personal boulder of overnight success. The good news is, that energy can be redirected once you do find your passion. Then those small taps will give you an added energy boost that helps you, even in your ‘day job.’

Next time, some ideas for ‘tapping’ into your potential and looking at the boulder from a fresh perspective. Thanks for reading. 🙂

About Scifialiens

Author of the Martian Symbiont series: three titles, so far; Been Blued, Martian Blues, Martian Divides.
Currently writing screenplays. 'Mating With Humans' can be found on her Stage32.com account.
Enjoyed writing from the start. Also a Star Trek and Doctor Who fan.
Canadian so far. Paternal grandparents were American. Feels more at home in the States.
Loves dogs and most other animals. Loves cats from afar--allergies.
Plays flute and saxophone; 'messes with' keyboard and electric guitar.
Single so far. Not really looking at the moment.
Age: irrelevant. Not to be confused with the fictional comic book character, Phyllis Twombly, who lived for 600 years in the American Midwest.